Life's Never What It Seems
by Rider of the Whales
Summary: Three interesting new boarders come to Kadic, and the Lyoko gang is hooked! But who exactly are these triplets, and why are they so intriguing? Read to find out! UxOC, OxOC, YxOC Flames accepted grudgingly
1. A few new arrivals

Birds sang in the trees as a beautiful winter day greeted the Lyoko Warriors. The five teens sat on their favorite bench, enjoying the fresh air. Jeremy and Aelita were talking about Lyoko in low voices, and Yumi and Ulrich played with Odd's hair and a bottle of styling gel. It was a weekend, so no classes. A rumor had gone around that some new kids would be arriving soon, and Yumi, Ulrich, and Odd had volunteered to show them around. Wiping his hands on a paper towel, Ulrich glanced at his watch. "They should be here any time, now," he said to Yumi. She grabbed some more gel, added a few finishing touches, and stepped back to look at her work. Odd's thick blond hair was now a forest of spikes, each gelled to a stiff point and frozen solid. Yumi nodded, satisfied, then grinned evilly and stuck a purple bow on the tallest point. Ulrich laughed.

All heads turned as a green minivan pulled up to the school gates. Two children, a girl and a boy, jumped out and waved to the driver. The girl blew a kiss and the van drove away. Odd jumped up and headed toward them, ignorant of the purple bow in his hair.

The girl had shoulder-length black hair with blue highlights. She was wearing a baggy red hoodie with the sleeves cut off, layered over a violet long-sleeved shirt. The boy's hair was also black, but very tousled. The tips were green. His jeans hung low, brushing the tops of his black-and-white DC shoes. He kept his hands in the pockets of a purple zip-up sweatshirt. Odd grinned at them.

"Hi, I'm Odd. Are you the new kids?" The boy smiled and nodded. "But, aren't there three of you?" he asked, confused. "Aren't you triplets or something? That's what the principal said, anyway."

The girl smiled, showing even, white teeth. "I'm Ikara Darkwood. This is Brendan," she indicated the boy, who smiled and gave a little wave to Yumi, who had just walked up. "Kai's our sister, and she's already in her dorm, setting up."

Brendan broke in. "Kai's kind of shy. That's why." Yumi giggled at the unintentional rhyme, and Brendan smiled back, then noticed Odd's hairdo and snorted. "Hey, did you know you have a big purple bow in your hair?" Odd reached up, then swatted frantically at his hair. The bow fell off and lay forlornly in the snow. Ikara picked it up and grinned. "Y'know, I think this would look just swell right here!" She stuck it into the middle of the purple spot in Odd's hair, and everyone laughed.

The next morning, the three were waiting by the cafeteria door to show the Darkwoods around. Odd glanced to the right, to the left, then pointed. "Look! They're over there!" Ulrich glanced over, then stared, totally captivated. It was like time and the whole world slowed down for him.

Half sitting, half standing on a bench was who must be Kai Darkwood. Her waist-length black hair was tipped with red, as if it had been dipped into a bucket of paint. It fluttered like a banner in the wind. She was wearing a green Billabong hoodie with a stylized dragon on the back, blue-green Gap jeans, and brown suede boots. Her earrings (he couldn't make out what they were) glinted in the early morning sunshine. He watched as she jumped up, ran a little, then lunged and did a perfect cartwheel, then a backward handspring, leaving perfect marks in the dusting of snow covering the ground. The brown-haired boy was broken out of his reverie suddenly by Odd waving a hand in front of his face.

"Yo, Ulrich! Wake up, man! We have to go over and say hi!" Odd shouted. Ulrich jumped and looked guilty, then followed Odd over to the Darkwoods. Yumi was still inside the cafeteria, eating breakfast.

"Good morning!" Odd grinned cheerfully at Ikara, who was yawning. After she was done, she smiled back at him and ruffled his hair. Odd looked pleased. Yumi dashed over, realizing the others had left her alone, and glared at Odd. Brendan was lying under Kai's feet (she was sitting on top of the bench), lazily eating a doughnut. Kai was looking at her feet as she pulled her hair into a high ponytail with a green scrunchie. Ulrich stared at the girl, shaking his head slowly, as if he was punch-drunk.

"So, ready to go to class?" Yumi asked. Ulrich snapped out of his daze as the triplets unfolded their schedules. Yumi peered over Brendan's shoulder, and Ikara showed hers to Odd. Kai just stared at hers, and Yumi peeked at it. "Hey, Kai, right?" Startled, the girl nodded and looked down. "You've got the same schedule as Ulrich here. He can show you around." Yumi grinned evilly. Kai looked up at her, and then to Ulrich.

Ulrich Pov

She looked at me, and I felt my heart skip a beat. Her eyes were as green as the leaves of the trees, a bright emerald green. There was something . . . kind of like a sadness, or a secret, hidden in those eyes that made me want to know more about her.

Kai Pov

I glanced up at the Japanese girl, then over to the brown-haired boy she indicated. Our eyes met, and I felt . . . an indescribable sensation. His eyes were brown, dark chocolate brown, and seemed to be daring the real me to come out and play. He was staring at me, his mouth curved up in a silly smile, so I had to smile back. _Oh, no. Nononono. Whoa, Kai. Slow down. You are NOT falling for a random guy you just met . . . Oh, who am I kidding, he is drop-dead GORGEOUS! Mmmm, and those eyes . . . Yummy . . .  
_

Ulrich POV

I could see what her earrings were, now, a tiny diamond kunai in one ear, an emerald shuriken in the other. My heart thudded painfully, and it seemed like everyone in the world could hear it. I just wanted to . . . _Hold it, Ulrich. Slow down, boy. No. Bad. Do not fall for girls you just met, even if she is the hottest thing you've ever seen . . . Oh, man, I think I'm in love . . ._

Normal POV

The two teens just stared at each other for a while. Yumi noticed first. She poked Odd in the ribs and pointed at the two. He sniggered, and tapped Ikara's shoulder. She glanced over and promptly fell laughing on Brendan, who also looked. Soon, the four of them were laughing hilariously. Finally noticing, Ulrich and Kai looked away from each other and blushed. Thankfully, the bell rang with a clatter, and they all went to class.

Kai and Ulrich's first class was chemistry, which they had with everyone else. Mrs. Hertz, the teacher, asked the triplets to come up front and introduce themselves. Ikara bounded up, while Brendan and Kai followed. Ikara struck a pose. "Hi! I'm Ikara Darkwood, and these are my brother and sister."

"I'm Brendan," he waved.

"I'm Kai," she mumbled.

They returned to their seats, and Mrs. Hertz started the lesson. It was about how different chemicals could penetrate the brain and cause temporary insanity. It was pretty interesting. Kai yawned about halfway through the class, though. She felt . . . light-headed, for some reason. _And no, it's not because Ulrich's sitting right beside you . . ._ Kai coughed, a light, almost silent cough. But it seemed that once the breath left her body, it wouldn't be coming back without a fight. She burst into a fit of coughing, gasping to regain air into her lungs. She tried to stifle the noise in her arm, so Mrs. Hertz wouldn't notice. Fortunately, she was telling Odd off for making a paper airplane and throwing it at Sissi.

Ikara and Brendan, though, both stared with worried expressions after they had heard the first little cough. They looked at each other, and a silent understanding passed between their gazes.

Soon, the coughs were out of control, racking Kai's frame as she bent over her desk. Mrs. Hertz finally looked up, concerned. "Kai? Are you all right?" The girl raised her head a little and shook it. "Why don't you go to the nurse, okay?" the teacher suggested gently. Kai nodded, then attempted to get out of her chair. Just as she was upright, another spasm of coughs shook her, and she stumbled, almost falling. Ulrich jumped up just in time to catch her.

"I'll escort her, Mrs. Hertz," Ulrich said, then wrapped an arm around Kai's waist and supported her out of the door. Once they were in the hallway, Ulrich carefully placed her against the wall. He could see tears streaming from her eyes, forced out every time she coughed. She gradually began to stop coughing. After about 10 minutes, 10 very painful minutes, Kai was back to normal, albeit rather raspy breathing. She wiped her mouth, and Ulrich was shocked to see flecks of blood. "Are you okay, Kai?" he asked, worried.

"I'm . . . fine," she said raspily. "I just need-" She pushed herself off of the wall and immediately crumpled to the floor. Ulrich made a strangled noise and knelt next to her. The girl struggled up again immediately, Ulrich's hand on her waist to help. She staggered to her feet and started swaying again. Ulrich's hand stayed around her waist, but his other one went around her shoulder to steady her.

"Okay, you're going to the nurse," he said, in a tone that meant no arguing. Kai nodded, then attempted to start walking, but crumpled again. Only Ulrich's support kept her up. She tugged his sleeve so his ear was next to her mouth. "Don't tell . . . anyone, please," she forced out in a whisper, then passed out. Ulrich hefted her up so he had one hand under her knees and one around her shoulders, holding her. Her head lolled against his chest as he started toward the nurse's office with his cargo.

A few hours later, Kai woke up. She cracked an eye open, then immediately closed it and moaned. The room spun and twisted. She became aware of a slight pressure against her head. And then something cool and moist replaced it. She sighed in relief and smiled, then risked opening the eye again. Ceiling. Then she opened the other one. Everything doubled, blurred. She blinked. A brown head bent over hers.

"Are you awake yet? Good," Ulrich said. "You've been out for a while." He leaned back and replaced the cloth on her forehead with another one. "The nurse said that whenever you felt better, you could leave." Kai struggled up. "I feel fine. I can go now," she swung her legs over and stood up, stumbled, and regained her balance. "See?" Ulrich nodded. "Well, it's time for P.E. with Jim. Shall we go?" Kai grinned. "One question, though. Do you know any martial arts?" Ulrich snorted indignantly. "Do I know martial arts? I'd like to let you know that I'm a master at Pencat Silek (Did I spell that right?), and I've only been beaten once." "Oh, really?" she chattered as they headed outside. 


	2. A little workout never hurt anyone

A.N. Hello all you wonderful people out there who are reading this! Like the numnut I am, I didn't know how to put authors notes into stories, I thought there was something on the site that would do it for me. Plus, I forgot the disclaimer last time, oops. Oh, well. Soo, um . . . On with the story, then, heh?

Disclaimer: I own NONE OF IT AT ALL! HAHAHA! (Mad laughter) JUST BORROWING!!!

Claimer: Scratch that. Kai and Brendan are mine, Ikara is my best friends. I'm borrowing her and making her act like she never would if she was in my best friends story. Ha ha XD!

Ikara dribbled the basketball down the court, dodging everyone on the opposing team. Her breath came in short bursts. Coming under the basket, she made a perfect layup, stretching . . . the ball left contact with her fingers . . .

And flew into her face, solidly thwacking her nose. Ikara fell backwards onto the floor, clutching the injured part. She rolled over and groaned, then looked up when she felt a shadow. Standing above her was Emily, looking concerned. "Oh, my gosh, I am SO SORRY!" she exclaimed while helping Ikara up. "Are you okay?"

Ikara nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." She wiped her aching nose and a few drops of blood fell into her hand. "Scratch that. I need a tissue. Or the nurse," she added as the few drops turned into a small, but steady, stream of blood. "Yeah. Nurse." Ikara headed toward the gym door, clutching her nose, while Emily walked along beside her, apologizing heavily. As they got to the door of the gym, Odd walked in holding a red-spattered tissue to _his_ nose. Seeing Ikara, he halted, then cocked his head to the side inquiringly.

"What happened, Ikara?" Odd asked.

"Basketball's not really my sport," she replied with a wry look

"Oh. Well, I got hit in the face with a soccer ball, so why don't I go to the nurse with you?" Odd looked hopeful, so hopeful that Emily just laughed and went back to playing basketball.

"I'll leave you two together, Ikara," Emily called as she headed back to the court. "You're in pretty good hands!" The two teens started down the hall together, an awkward silence hanging between them..

"Soo, Ikara . . . do you like lasagna?" Odd asked in a fit of randomness.

"I love lasagna. How about you?" she replied, her nose pinched between her fingers.

"It's one of my favorites. Once, I ate a whole plate of lasagna in half a minute," the blond-haired boy added. Ikara grinned deviously.

"Oh, really?" she asked, putting all her charm into her voice. Ikara was a champion flirter when she wanted to be. "Tell me more,"she purred. Odd melted.

"Well," he started, a goofy grin on his face. "It all began when Ulrich, Yumi, Jeremy, Aelita, and I were playing Truth or Dare . . ."

Yumi ducked, and Brendan's foot swung harmlessly over her head. She spun, planted her feet, and threw a punch. He jerked back, grabbed her hand, and threw her (gently) onto the floor. She did a back-handspring and landed on her feet, then charged him, frustrated that she hadn't been able to beat him so far. He easily caught her wrist, then lunged, grabbed her waist, and flipped her. Startled, she flailed, caught hold of his shoulders, and tugged. He lost his balance and fell. The two teens tussled for a while, then froze when they heard a door open. Their position was rather awkward; Brendan had Yumi's arms pinned, and he was kneeling over her, his knees to either side of her waist. They stared at each other, and a slow blush rose in both their cheeks. Brendan scrambled backward hastily and helped Yumi up as Ulrich and Kai walked in, Ulrich explaining Pencat Silek to her.

Brendan's eyes lit up as he noticed the playful gleam in his sister's eyes. "Excuse me for a second, Yumi." He bowed to the Japanese girl and ran over to his sister. He nodded to Ulrich, then pulled Kai aside and whispered in her ear. The girl started back, then grinned broadly. She nodded, then pulled Ulrich aside and started talking to him again. Brendan then whispered to Yumi, who nodded eagerly, then twisted his arm and threw him to the ground. "Oh, is that how you want to play, then?" he asked her irritably.

"Bring it on, big boy." Yumi stood above him with her hands on her hips, mocking him. He turned 180 degrees, grabbed her ankle, and shook it. She toppled over onto him, and the fight was on again. Kai laughed as she watched Yumi's obvious frustration. "How are you so good?" the Japanese girl swore as Brendan tripped her and pinned her again.

Bored after awhile, Kai left the two fighters and wandered off, unnoticed. Ulrich looked around after awhile, suddenly noticing her departure. "Hey, Kai!" he yelled as he went off to look for her. "We have to go see Jim!" Ulrich trotted at a moderate pace around the outside of the gymnasium, looking for the girl. About three minutes later, he heard female voices coming from the woods. Curious, he decided to investigate. As the boy walked slowly toward the voices, he could make out a few words, and what sounded like Sissi's voice. Ulrich rolled his eyes, then kneeled behind a bush to spy.

He was right, Sissi was there, along with Kai. For some reason, Sissi seemed to be . . . acting nice to Kai. The girls chatted, or actually Sissi chatted. Kai was rather silent, only answering direct questions. "So, Kai," Sissi leaned against a tree, watching the girl. "Where did you live before you came to Kadic?" Kai flushed slightly, then cast her gaze down.

"I lived . . . with Brendan and Ikara, in Spain," she said hastily. "It was fun." Sissi tossed her hair out of her eyes, then settled down again.

"Tell me more, like do you have a boyfriend or anything?" Sissi asked. Kai quickly shook her head no, and Ulrich felt a strange loosening in his chest. "No boyfriend? Do you have your eye on anyone in Kadic yet, like, say, William?" Kai looked questioningly at Sissi.

"Who's William?" she asked puzzledly.

"What about Ulrich?" Sissi became suddenly serious. Kai's facial expression, confusion mixed with a questioning, twitched. Ulrich noticed this.

"What about him?" the girl asked, trying to be nonchalant, but noticing Sissi's demeanor and pressing against a tree, like she was shrinking away. Ulrich growled silently. _That's mean_, he thought. _Sissi's really getting on my nerves now._

"Just wondering," Sissi said sweetly, then took a menacing step toward the girl, who started trembling. "Just so you know, Ulrich is _mine_," Sissi hissed between clenched teeth, all sweetness gone. "So keep away from him if you know what's good for you."

Kai made an irritated noise. "The last time I heard from him, he wasn't attached to anyone," she sneered. Sissi narrowed her eyes and slapped Kai across the face hard, driving her forehead deep into the rough bark. Seeing enough, Ulrich stepped around to a clear spot between the trees and walked causally through, kicking up little drifts of snow.

"Oh, there you are, Kai, I was looking for you!" Ulrich put on a bright smile, and Sissi quickly leaned back.

"Oh, hello, Ulrich dear!" she simpered, running over to him and hugging him. He shoved her away from him.

"Sissi, I'm not your 'Ulrich dear,' so don't call me that," he snapped at her. "Especially not when you're terrorizing the new girls. Can't you just lay off?" Sissi stepped back, startled, and the brown-haired boy took advantage and walked quickly over to Kai, who was still pressed against the tree trunk, trembling. A lump was forming where her forehead had hit the tree, and a cut had opened too. Ulrich resisted the surprisingly strong urge to whack Sissi a good one and wrapped his arm around Kai's shoulders. "C'mon, Kai, let's get out of here," he urged the girl quietly. She nodded, as if in a daze, and matched her pace to his as they left the clearing with a fuming Sissi.

Ulrich led the shocked girl to a quiet spot behind the cafeteria, then kneeled facing her. He pulled a tissue out of his pocket and offered it to her. "Thanks," she muttered quietly, then licked it and gently dabbed the wet end onto the cut. She cleaned it off pretty well, then shook her bangs down. Ulrich sighed.

"I'm really sorry about Sissi," he told her. "She's obsessed with me, just because I don't like her. I really hate her." She let out a small laugh, and he smiled. The sun peered out between the clouds and a beam of light caused something on Kai's left hand to sparkle. "Hey, what's that?" he inquired.

"What's what?" she asked, confused.

"That, on your hand." He pointed.

"Oh, that." She extended her hand, pulling her sleeve back a little. Ulrich took the proffered hand. A thin piece of black cord was wrapped around her wrist and hand several times. It looped around her forefinger, and a tiny silver charm rested along her palm. He peered closer, and discovered that the charm was a half of a heart. Embedded within the heart were several pairs of initials, and what looked like a tiny diamond.

"What do all those initials stand for?" the boy asked, angling the charm toward the light with his finger. There was a rather long pause, and Ulrich glanced up. Kai was biting her lower lip and looking away, as if something pained her. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," he added hurriedly. "I mean, if it's personal or something . . ."

Kai looked at him. "No, it's okay. The initials . . . they're of my . . . family," her voice ended on an odd note, and her eyes started to fill with tears. Ulrich covered her palm with his.

"You miss them, don't you," he stated quietly. The black-haired girl nodded as a stray tear slid down her cheek. His grip on her hand tightened slightly. "I missed my family when I first came here, too. So did Odd," he confided to her, and she grinned. "Even Jeremy missed his parents. Yumi still lives with hers, so she's fine, but Aelita . . ." he stopped suddenly. "Aelita . . . is in contact with hers constantly. Yeah," he finished lamely, and Kai laughed. She scrubbed her face with the back of her green sleeve.

"I'm hungry, is it lunchtime yet?" she asked, standing up and shaking snow off of her hoodie. Ulrich grinned.

"You sound like Odd, but yeah, it is about lunchtime," he replied. "Let's go." The two started toward the cafeteria, completely oblivious to the fact that they were still holding hands. The walkway was covered with snow, and Kai kicked up little flurries every now and then, taking pure delight just from the snow. As they neared the building, Ulrich's cell phone rang. He sighed, then answered it. "Hello? Oh, Jeremy, hey . . . what? To the factory? Jeremy, what about Kai? . . . Darkwood, remember we're showing them around . . . Why don't I just bring her? . . . What's X.A.N.A. doing? . . . Oh, crap, we'd better bring all three of them, huh . . . yeah. I'll- We'll be right there." He hung up, then turned to the puzzled Kai. "I'll explain later. For now, RUN!"

A/N: Was that a good cliffie? I am a detail person. If I am putting too much detail into these stories and boring you all to death, press the little bitty review button and tell me that, 'kay? So, just to be the most random person I can be, I will be including random quotes from random Code Lyoko episodes. If you can tell me which episode the quote is from, I'll dedicate the chapter to you. By the way, this whole story is dedicated to my best friend, because I made her cry. Almost. So call it an apology of sorts.

Today's quote: "Tell me I don't look too bad, huh."Yumi (hint: She's talking about a costume she's wearing)(another hint: If you really want to, search Wikiquote for Code Lyoko. It gets results.)

One last thing: Anybody know where I can get a downloadable mp3 file of the Code Lyoko theme song? I WANT ONE.


	3. Hmm

A/N: Aha, chapter 3! Yay! I did it! I know you people are reading this, last time I checked I had 70 hits, so why only 4 reviews? (puppy-dog eyes) C'mon, do I have to sit up and beg? Ah, well. In other news, poor author is a failure at making fudge, 'cause it never sets. BUT! I made caramels! And they're chocolate! And they taste good! Happy author! And, it's final exam week at my school, and I've got half days the rest of this week! Yay! Plus, the semester ends, and I get rid of my annoying English teacher! Really happy author! And, I get to go skiing!!!! As always, the whole story is dedicated to AM, 'cause of the wonderful game of DDR in the Arcade at Rutland mall, she knows what I'm talking about. So onward with a X.A.N.A. attack! Yay, I love those.

**Flames Chaos and Wolf**: Why? What's the matter with cliffies?

**Starr-Claw:** Why, thank you.

Disclaimer: Yearghible. Not mine: Ulrich. Yumi. Jeremy. Aelita. Odd. Sissi. Anyone else from Moonscape that I use, however accidently.

Claimer: Mine: Kai. Brendan. For all purposes, Ikara.

"And so then, Ulrich dared me to eat a whole plateful of lasagna as fast as I could, and if I ate it in under 45 seconds, he'd give me five dollars. So I did." Odd laughed as he sat on a cot in the nurse's office.

"Oh, that's nothing!" Ikara teased. "I once ate two full bags of popcorn in two minutes. Ugh, I'm never doing that again, I threw it all up an hour later." She laughed. "I remember the looks on Kai and Brendan's faces, it was priceless."

"I grossed Yumi out so much when I ate that lasagna, she-" Odd's cell phone rang. "Just a sec, Ikara. 'Lo . . . Jeremy! What a pleasant surprise! . . . Uh huh . . . Factory ASAP? Why? . . ." Odd turned pale. "Oh. Well . . . Jeremy, I have someone with me . . . Yeah, her name's Ikara Darkwood . . . Yeah, there's three of them . . . Bring her along? Great! Ok, Jeremy, see ya there!" He hung up and turned back to Ikara. "Hey, wanna know a secret?"

"Sure." Ikara was intrigued. Odd smiled and motioned her over to him.

"Follow me." He jumped off the nurse's cot and ran out of the door, Ikara tailing him closely.

**yearghibleyearghibleyearghibleyearghibleyearghibleyearghibleyearghibleyearghibleyearghibleyearghibleyearghibleyearghibleyearghibleyearghibleyearghibleyea**

Brendan flipped Yumi once more, and for the 18th time she hit the mat, hard. She lay there panting, frustrated. "GAAAH!" she yelled. "HOW are you so GOOD?!" Brendan smirked, then offered the girl his hand. She took it, held it, then jerked it toward her. Brendan's smirk disappeared and he wobbled then fell, hitting the mat as hard as she did. Yumi laughed, then her cell phone rang. "Grr . . " she fumed, then hit the talk button. "Hello? Oh, Jeremy. What is it now? . . ." Her eyes widened. "Crap. Is it X.A.N.A.? . . . Jeremy, I'm showing a new kid around . . . yeah, his last name's Darkwood . . . Bring him? Why? . . . They're coming too?! Jeremy!? It's that bad? . . . Oh. Okay. Be right there, but . . . Yeah, good idea. We'll come over and then . . . who knows, Jeremy, I don't." She hung up the phone and slumped on the floor.

"What's the matter?" Brendan asked, looking worried. Yumi groaned.

"Brendan, follow me. I'll explain when we get there." She kneeled, tightened her laces, then took off running. With a shout, he followed.

**yearghibleyearghibleyearghibleyearghibleyearghibleyearghibleyearghibleyearghibleyearghibleyearghibleyearghibleyearghibleyearghibleyearghibleyearghibleyea**Ulrich led the way through the woods to the manhole cover leading down to the sewer. Hurriedly kicking snow out of the way, he lifted it up. "Kai, go in first. When you get to the bottom, wait for me." The girl ran up to the entrance, hesitated, then climbed down. Ulrich quickly scanned the forest, then slipped into the hole himself. He replaced the manhole cover and descended hand over hand until he reached the bottom. "We should be safe here for a while." He glanced over at Kai. In the dim light she looked pale as a ghost.

"Ulrich, what's going on?" she asked. He sighed.

"Okay. About a year and a half ago, Jeremy found this old abandoned factory. That's where we're going. In it was this weird computer. He booted it up, and a girl appeared." Ulrich explained the whole story of how the gang first met, and about X.A.N.A. After he finished, he watched for her reaction.

"So, there's an evil AI named X.A.N.A. living in a supercomputer that's out to destroy the world?" she asked. Ulrich held his breath and nodded. After a pause, she shrugged. "Okay. Sounds real to me. So how fast do we need to be at the factory?"

Ulrich glanced at the skateboards and scooters. "There's not enough, even though Jeremy and Aelita left theirs here. If we take two, the others won't have enough." He groaned. Kai glanced to the right, then to the left.

"Hey, Ulrich, how 'bout I take that bike over there?" She pointed at a green-and-silver 14-speed bike leaning against the sewer wall. Ulrich gaped.

"That wasn't there before, I can swear on that."

Kai shrugged. "Things like that happen to me all the time. Like sometimes, I find money in my pockets that I'm sure wasn't there before. On the flight I took to come to France, I found a fully charged green iPod Nano with all my favorite songs on it lying on my plane seat. It's gone now, but why get mad? It's good for us, isn't it?" She ran over to the bike and swung a leg over the seat. "You lead the way." Ulrich took off on his skateboard, and Kai followed. Soon, they reached the exit. The two leaned their vehicles against the wall and climbed up the rungs. They left the manhole cover off of the hole.

"The factory's just up here," Ulrich called to Kai.

"I can see it. Race you there!" she yelled back to him as she sprinted toward the factory. They raced neck and neck, but Kai was the first one to reach the ropes. Running too fast to stop, she just hurled herself at the rope, caught it, swung out, hit the floor running, and made it to the elevator a split second before Ulrich did. "Ha," she panted, then slid down the wall onto the floor. "I win."

Ulrich grimaced. "This time. I'm gonna win next time."

"In your dreams!" They both laughed, and the elevator door opened. Ulrich stepped out into the super-computer room, while Kai hung back.

"Want us in the scanners, Jeremy?" she heard Ulrich ask.

"Yes, you should go. Odd's halfway here, but Yumi I just called." Another voice answered him. "Aelita's already in there, waiting. You can introduce her to Kai."

"Yeah." Ulrich turned and walked into the elevator, and it descended again. When the door opened, they both stepped out into the Scanner room. Ulrich walked to his. "Kai, this is gonna be a little bit freaky for you. It scared the heck out of me when I first did it. But I'll be in Lyoko waiting for you." He smiled at her, attempting to cheer her up. She gulped, then turned and entered the scanner across from him. The doors slid shut and they both heard Jeremy's voice.

"Transfer, Ulrich. Transfer, Kai." A warm yellow light surrounded her as the scanner hummed. She tensed.

"Scanner, Ulrich. Scanner, Kai." A whoosh of air ran through the scanner, and she was lifted into the air. A strange sensation filled her body, and she clamped her jaw shut to keep from screaming.

"Virtualization." A bright white light filled the scanner, her hair fanned outward, and the last thing she saw before she squeezed her eyes shut was a long, strangely colored tunnel engulfing her, sweeping her away.

A/N: Hmm, barely a thousand words on that one. Well, another cliffie, sort of. I'd like to have three more reviews before I update again, if that's okay with all of you. I know you're out there. You don't even have to log in, just send me an anonymous one. Oh, and if you tell me the name of your story when you review, I'll read it and review it. Yeah!

Today's quote(s): "So, am I a creep, or a genius?" Odd

"You're a creepy genius!" Jeremy


	4. Lyoko at last! Well, kind of

A/N: I am so sorry that I've been so long updating. I've had a bunch of play practices and so much homework to do it's scary. Just prepare yourselves, people. This chapter might get a little . . . weird. As always, this is dedicated to AM for . . . the Blue October CD. And this chapter is dedicated to my good buddy Taylor, for identifying the quote. Did you go on Wikipedia, Taylor? In other news, does anyone have any clue about what happened to Code Lyoko? It's off Miguzi, and I can't find it anywhere else!!!! TT . . .

**ficboy101**- Aelita's virtualization? Keep reading . . .

**Flames Chaos and Wolf**- Well, will you keep reading if I don't do a bunch of cliffies?

**Dramarose**- I think that those ideas may be poking into here sometime soon, keep watching.

On with the story then!!!! Yay.

Disclaimer: Moonscoop owns Code Lyoko, not me. I make no claim to own any of the characters, for in my hands they would most likely spontaneously combust.

Claimer: I own Kai, Brendan, for all purposes Ikara too, not Moonscoop. My preciouses . . .

"You mean, there's an evil computer program that wants out?" Ikara panted to Odd, as they ran to the opening for the sewer.

"Yeah, it's called X.A.N.A. and it lives in Lyoko, which is where we're gonna go," he explained as he heaved the cover up. "In we go." They entered the hole, and Odd slid the cover back over the opening. With only five feet left to go, Ikara dropped the rest of the way and landed on her feet. Odd dropped down beside her. "You can take Aelita's scooter," he said. "The one with the pink wheels."

"And the pink frame, and the pink base, and the pink grips, and the pink streamers coming from the handles . . ." Ikara grumbled. "Pink. Yuck."

"Follow me, o fair maiden!" Odd yelled as he took off on his skateboard. "I shall lead the way to thy noble fortress!" Ikara laughed, then pushed off. As they sped through the sewer, she looked around at the walls and the water.

"Why isn't the water all yuck-like?" she asked. "Y'know, with . . . sewage."

"They don't use this sewer for sewage. This one's for the dirty water that comes down the drains, and stuff like that," he explained. "Our opening's just ahead. Hey, who's bike is that?" he wondered as he came across the green-and-silver 14-speed. "Oh, well. Looks like Ulrich and Kai are here ahead of us, but we better hurry. They might need help." He boosted Ikara up on the ladder rungs, then climbed up himself. The two teens entered the factory much more sedately then Ulrich and Kai had. Odd introduced Ikara to Jeremy, and then they went down to the scanners.

"This isn't gonna hurt or anything, is it?" Ikara asked, slightly worried.

"Nah, it won't hurt a bit." Odd bit his lip, remembering the return trips. _Not until you get devirtualized, anyway._ "It only takes a little bit, then you'll be virtual. It's awesome."

"I'll take your word for it . . ." she mumbled, then stepped into the scanner Kai had used. Jeremy activated the virtualization process.

"Transfer, Odd. Transfer, Ikara." The scanners hummed with mechanical energy. Ikara felt a rushing sensation, almost like flight.

"Scanner, Odd. Scanner, Ikara." The girl's body lifted into the air, rotating slightly.

"Virtualization." Ikara kept her eyes open long enough to see a long, twisting tunnel made of virtual code, but was forced to close her eyes as a bright white light swept over her.

Ulrich virtualized first, dropping lightly to the ground with a practiced ease. He looked around, seeing dark green forestry, as Jeremy said, "I virtualized you two into the Forest Sector. Aelita should be waiting for you. I'm going to virtualize the other two in the Mountain Sector. Then you three will join up with them, and all of you will sweep the Ice Barrier and Desert Sectors. If all else fails, we go to Carthage."

Ulrich flinched. "Is it really that bad, Jeremy?" He heard a deep sigh.

"I'm afraid it is, Ulrich. I hacked into the hospital files. They're flooded with patients, all of them critical." Ulrich winced, then heard a soft thump as Kai landed behind him.

"Oh, wow . . . ." He turned around to see her staring up at the trees and the virtual sky. She looked left, then right, then at him. " Wow, you look . . . cool," she finished, staring at his samurai outfit.

"So do you," he said admiringly. Kai's ensemble in Lyoko consisted of a skintight, three-quarter-length green tunic ending at her hips, loose brown pants with silver designs, and knee-high brown boots with no heel that laced up to keep them tight. On her tunic, winding its way around her body, was a silver dragon. Silver bracelets hung from her wrists, and her now-knee-length hair hung from her head in a high ponytail, a black wave cascading down her back, ending with a stripe of red. A quiver of arrows and a composite bow dangled off her shoulder, and a longsword hung at her hip. "You certainly are armed. Turn around, let's see your whole costume."

She giggled, rotating on the spot. As she turned 180 degrees, he put out a hand to stop her. "Hold on a sec, Kai." The virtual air around her shoulders was shimmering strangely, like it did when they devirtualized. He gave a yelp and jumped backwards as, with a snap, two red-and-black feathered wings materialized on her back. "Aah!"

"Is something wrong?" she asked worriedly, turning back to face him.

"Nothing. Did you notice you h ave wings?" She flapped them experimentally, then grinned widely. Ulrich's heart skipped a few beats. "Cool. More than cool," Ulrich smiled back. "But look, there's Aelita." The pink-haired girl waved at them from a nearby boulder. "Aelita, this is Kai," Ulrich introduced them. "Kai, Aelita, our virtual savior. She's the only one who can deactivate towers."

"And speaking of towers, I've already swept the Forest Sector. We can continue on to the Mountain Sector now," Aelita said excitedly. "Let's go now. There's a tower over this way." Kai started to run after Ulrich and Aelita, but then paused. She jumped up, flapped her wings, and flew after the two. Spotting the tower, she sped ahead, flying faster then they could run.

"Wow . . ." Ulrich muttered. "You're a natural, Kai! You'll fit right in here."

"I hope I can help," she said softly, looking around. "This place is so beautiful, I'd hate to see it ruined."

Aelita smiled. "Most likely, we won't have to." They passed into the tower.

Ikara and Odd landed at roughly the same time in the Mountain Sector, Ikara rather painfully. "Ouch," she grumbled as she stood, rubbing her sore derriere. "That hurt." Taking her mind off the pain, she glanced around at her surroundings. "Wow. Odd, this is cool!"

"Yeah . . ." she heard his voice from behind her and whirled around to see him staring at her.

"What?"

"Your wings . . . ." Ikara twisted her head back to see a pair of blood-red dragon wings arching from her shoulder blades. Her blue-streaked hair was falling in her face, so she pushed it away, glancing down to see the rest of her outfit. She wore a black shirt that was cut off in the middle of her arm, and from her elbows down her arms were wrapped. A pair of skintight black pants with red and violet flames running up the legs completed the outfit. For footwear, black boots. From a belt at her hips dangled several kunai and shuriken. "And your outfit. Lucky."

Ikara looked closer at him. "Odd, are you a . . . giant . . . purple . . . cat?" she asked hesitatingly. Odd blushed.

"Yeah . . . About that . . ." he started to explain, but Ikara cut him off.

"Now, _that_ is cool!"

"Huh?" he asked, confused. "I thought you just said that I look like a giant purple cat, and that's cool."

"It is," she grinned. "I love cats." Odd blushed harder, but Ikara didn't notice, because she was examining her surroundings. "This is awesome . . ."

"Isn't it?" A familiar voice yelled. Ikara spun around to see Kai, Ulrich, and Aelita running toward them. Well, Ulrich and Aelita were running. Kai was flying.

"Okay, Jeremy," Odd called to the virtual sky after they were settled. "Can you please tell our lovely lady friends what's going on?"

Jeremy sighed, once again. "X.A.N.A. has taken over a power plant. Its warehouses were packed with nuclear byproducts, and the radiation has gotten out. I've sent Brendan and Yumi to warn the police. For now, though, we have to sweep Lyoko."

"Why, Jeremy?"

" . . . . "

"Jeremy . . . "

"I can't find the tower. It's not showing up." His words rang through the digital skies. Odd, Ulrich, and Aelita stared at each other, horrified, while Ikara and Kai flapped to a ledge above to keep a lookout. Odd recovered his voice first.

"Are you sure it's not hidden in that oasis again, Jer?" The cat-boy swished his tail anxiously.

"I'm sure. Last time I was at least getting pulsations, but no luck now. So get going."

The Mountain Sector was searched to no avail, and so was the Ice Barrier sector. But within the Desert Sector, things got scary. As the group of 5 emerged into the digital sunlight, a beam of red light flashed between them, hitting Kai and knocking her off her feet. She gave a startled yelp as she fell. A megatank rolled out from behind a boulder and powered up for another shot. As if that was a cue, a trio of bees and a herd of crabs appeared on the horizon, and everyone was barraged by laser fire from all directions. "Back to the tower!" Jeremy yelled from his seat in the supercomputer room. "You guys are losing too many life points!"

Ulrich was the last one in. Just as he was diving into the tower, a strange purple beam hit him in the back. The first thing he said upon standing up in the tower was, "X.A.N.A. lives in a giant bucket!" Everyone looked at him strangely. "What?" He asked.

Suddenly, everyone stared straight upwards. They felt a presence hovering over them, a presence emanating intense anger and hatred. The "floor" of the tower began to glow with a bright white light, and the five teens floated into the air. "Jeremy!" Odd yelled, suspended in midair. "What the hell is happening?"

The boy genius's disembodied voice sounded smug. "I had a feeling something like this was going to happen. So I made a new computer program. Now, whenever you stay in a tower for a while, your life points start regenerating. Unfortunately-" his voice grew worried-"I'm not sure that I worked out all the bugs. Something might happen when you come out of the scanner, like you might get sick or something. You might not, though."

Ikara rolled her eyes. "Oh, lovely." She twisted around in midair. "Can we get down now?" A pinging noise sounded, and they all dropped.

"Jeremy," Aelita mused. "We should go to another tower."

"Good idea, Aelita. Try at the western corner."

The group slid out of the tower cautiously, looking everywhere for monsters. "Natch, Jer," Ulrich muttered.

"What the . . . ." they all heard Jeremy muttering.

"Something the matter, Einstein?" Odd asked in a worried voice.

"Something's coming up on the screen, and it's flying right toward you guys." Jeremy sounded confused. "I'd almost say it looks like a-"

"Giant password bubble?" Kai asked.

"Exactly! How'd you know?"

"Er . . . ." Kai sweatdropped. "It's glowing neon green, and it's about five feet away. So what's the password?"

Odd strutted forward, glancing at Ikara. "Here, let me try." He laid his hand on the giant bubble, and it flashed. 'Password: YOU SUCK X.A.N.A.' appeared in bright red letters. Everyone looked around nervously. Nothing happened. "Was I right?" Odd asked, suspicious.

The bubble exploded. Odd jumped backwards as shards of bubble flew everywhere. He watched, horrified, as the bubble shards reformed into a giant mallet. "Didn't think so." The mallet swung, and Odd was smashed into a giant target marked 'OUT.'

In his giant bucket, X.A.N.A. sniggered as it watched Odd smash into the target. "I love wide-screen. And rewind . . . ."

In the computer room, Jeremy sweatdropped. "A giant mallet . . . very subtle, X.A.N.A."

The password bubble reformed. Kai stepped forward to try. 'Password: DESERT STORM' appeared. The bubble exploded, and Kai was launched into the air by a giant spring and devirtualized. Jeremy groaned.

The password bubble reformed. Ikara placed her hand on the bubble. 'Password: OPEN SESAME' rolled around. Ikara grinned. "Hey, it's worked before." The bubble exploded. Ikara was crushed by a giant anvil falling from the sky.

Jeremy facepalmed. "This is getting stupider and stupider."

Ulrich nervously touched the bubble with one finger. 'Password: SOCCER BALL' was halfway across the face of the bubble when it exploded. Ulrich spontaneously devirtualized.

Aelita faced the bubble, which was now an ominous reddish-orange color. She spread her fingertips along the pulsating surface and concentrated. 'Password: LYOKO' flashed across the screen three times. A bluish tinge appeared in the bubble, and it vanished. Moments later, another bubble enveloped Aelita and bounced into the digital sky.

In the scanner room, doors opened.

A/N: This was a really long chapter, and I should be updating really soon. I mean it this time. Another few random quotes, not necessarily from Code Lyoko. Actually, they're not.

"Nausea, Heartburn, Indigestion, Upset Stomach, Diarrhea? Aiee! Pollo Pepto!" M. Woods

"They're burning my skin, but they look so good!" C. Bantum

"Mubluck." Unknown

"The only guaranteed way to suicide is to jump into a jet engine while it's running. It's quick, and painless! Only, it's kind of messy." B. Knockenhauer

"Nerg." S. Skalecki


	5. Chapter 5

A/N OH MY GOD I AM SOOOO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING!!!!! You won't believe the mess I had. In April my computer crashed, and then the hard drive erased all my files in early July, and it sucked really bad! And then I realize that nobody's reviewed my last chapter, did it suck that bad? If you have suggestions, please give them to me! But I'm finally on track again, so please don't kill me, please, please, please!

Disclaimer: I own none, 'cept Kai 'n Brendan 'n Ikara. Please don't sue.

Today's song: I Think I Love You by Kaci!!!!!!!!!

**------------------------------------------------**

_Return to the past now . . ._

Kai shot up in bed like she'd been sleeping on hot coals. "What the hell?" she asked herself, yawning. She glanced at her clock. It flashed 6:30 at her. "Ah, damn. I'm never gonna get back to sleep," she moaned, but flopped over anyway. It was then that she remembered the events of the past day. _Was it all a dream?_

_Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt._ Her phone buzzed on the bedside table beside her, and she picked it up. "H'lo?"

"Why are you awake, Kai?" Ikara's voice came at her through the phone.

"Why are you calling me if you think I'm not going to be awake?" Kai shot back.

"Good point," she laughed. "I wanted to talk. Your coughing fit earlier. Checked the date on your phone recently?"

"Nope. Is it another of those 'repeat day' thingies again?"

"Still Monday. I hate Mondays."

"Don't worry, Ikara, it's only Monday until it's Tuesday." There was silence on the other end of the phone. "Ikara?"

"Go back to sleep, Kitty." Ikara sniggered on the other end of the phone. "'It's only Monday until it's Tuesday', that's a good one."

"Can't sleep. I had a weird dream."

"Tell it to me! I love hearing about your dreams!"

"Really?"

"No. But go ahead!"

"Okay. Let me think . . ."

_A flash of familiar faces, brown hair, walking in the woods, black hair beside it. _

_Both figures tensed, waiting for something._

_A loud, sharp crack-_

_Black hair pushes Brown hair-_

_Something whips through the air-_

_Sharp pain running like fire through her body-_

"Kai?" Ikara asked, sounding worried.

"Never mind. I'm getting up and going to breakfast. Wanna come?" Kai asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah. Meet you outside your room in five minutes." Ikara hung up and Kai rolled out of bed, rummaging through her drawers.

**-------------------------------------------**

_Wow, that went fast,_ Kai thought, walking upstairs to put her books in her room before supper. The day had been a blur, meeting Ulrich, Odd, Jeremy, and Yumi again, Mrs. Hertz's class _sans _coughing, gym, lunch, science, math, all gone by so fast. _It's all the same_, she pondered, lowering her head to read a homework requirement sheet given to her by a teacher. _The same, but different. I mean, I didn't have that coughing fit, I didn't get ambushed by that girl, I didn't have to miss lunch . . ._ Her stomach grumbled and she giggled. _Although I am pretty hungry. Lunch was not good, hope dinner's better. Wonder which dorm's Ulrich's. I guess I'll just put these in my room and go find Ikara. Or Brendan._ Kai was so intent on her thoughts that she didn't even notice the person walking down the hall. The person in the hall apparently didn't notice her, either, because in a moment both were sprawled on the floor, books and papers strewn everywhere.

"I'm sorry!" Kai cried, blushing and not looking up as she scrambled to gather her books.

"It's my fault," the other person replied. His voice sounded familiar, like-

She looked up. "Sorry, Ulrich," she apologized again, and picked up his notebook. He grinned and held up her textbooks.

"I'll trade. Since I knocked you down, I'll carry your books to your dorm for you. Sound fair?" he asked. She nodded and handed him his notebook. "Lead the way, then."

Kai walked about fifty feet and then stopped. "Here it is."

"Oh," Ulrich said. When she saw his expression, Kai laughed, a light, clear sound.

"I'll make a deal with you," she said, still laughing. "If you're not satisfied with how far you walked my books, you can walk me to supper."

"Sounds good to me. I'd like to get to know you better." He handed her the books and watched as she set them on her bed. "Just so you know, it's the famous pizza. Or should I say infamous?"

"Infamous?" she asked doubtfully, closing her door.

"Inedible." He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Do you dare try it?" She laughed again. "Is that a yes or a no?"

Kai shrugged. "It all depends on whether or not they have any red Jell-O." She grinned, daring him to ask. He took the bait.

"Why red Jell-O? Why not pink, or green, or blue, or yellow, or brown, or-" Ulrich snapped his mouth shut, realizing that he was babbling and Kai wasn't listening. She was looking down the hall, and soon Ulrich heard the footsteps too.

It was, of course, Sissi, who was storming up the steps like a steam engine. "Or we could discuss this down in the cafeteria," Ulrich said a little louder, tugging on Kai's sleeve to make her look at him. When she did, he mouthed, _'Trust me?'_ She nodded. He leaned down and whispered in her ear. "Are you a good actor? " She nodded again. "Time to introduce you to the best sport at Kadic: Sissi baiting. Follow my lead." He looked toward the stairs, then back at her. "Would it be all right if I held your hand for a few minutes?"

So for the second time that day (if you counted the X.A.N.A. attack day), Kai held out her hand to Ulrich, and he wound his fingers through hers just as Sissi came barreling up the stairs and into the hallway.

She stopped dead in her tracks as she saw the two teens walking sedately down the hallway- hand in hand, oblivious to their surroundings. _This calls for something serious,_ she thought. _That new girl needs a lesson._ She walked briskly by them, intentionally bumping Kai so she lost her balance.

"Hey!" Kai snapped, irritated. "Either watch where you're going, or walk far enough away from me that you don't touch me, blimp!"

Sissi whirled around. "_What_ did you just call me?"

Kai put a hand on her hip and bent her knee slightly in that oh-so-familiar posture of irritated females. "A blimp. You got a problem with that?"

"You know, Sissi," Ulrich added, "She's got a point. You're hanging out of your shirt a bit there."

Sissi glared. "I'll have you know that this is a crop top, custom designed to show off my magnificent figure!"

Kai laughed and rolled her eyes. "Riiight," she drawled. "Just keep telling yourself that, Sissi dear." She tugged on Ulrich's hand slightly, and they turned to go.

"Ulrich," Sissi called after them, "You really shouldn't spend your time with girls like that."

"I'd rather spend time with girls like Kai then girls like you!" he shot back, not even bothering to turn around. "So just bug off." They disappeared down the stairs. Sissi fumed.

On the stairs, Kai turned to Ulrich, laughter dancing in her eyes. "You're right. That was fun!"

**-------------------------------------------------------**

_Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt._

Her phone was ringing again. "What the . . . " she grumbled. "Who is this?"

"Kai," Brendan whispered through the phone. "We have a surprise!"

"Yeah," Ikara added. Kai looked at the clock and rolled her eyes, tempted to just hang up and go back to sleep.

"Guys. It's 11:30. Get a grip." She yawned.

"Look at the sky!" Brendan sounded overly thrilled. So she looked. It was a full moon, no clouds to obscure its light. "And we found something flat and round."

"And green," Ikara added.

"You brought the Frisbee?" Kai laughed. "No way!"

"And I drew glowsticks. _Again_." Ikara sighed. "I swear you guys are jinxing it somehow. But I have a way out. I give you five minutes before we close the door."

"Okay, I'm coming!" Kai stumbled out of bed for the second time that day and changed hurriedly. "Which stairwell?"

"The one on the right." Ikara whistled softly through her teeth. "We have some extra people tonight, too."

Kai slid down the banister by the stairwell. "Extras?" She hit the bottom and stumbled, crashing into somebody and nearly falling.

"Yeah!" Ikara hung up the phone and turned around. "Except it seems like you've already found them."

Ulrich turned around and caught Kai. "Haven't had enough of running into me yet today?" he asked, smiling.

"I'm really tired," she grinned back. "And you just seem to always be there." They stood together for a moment.

"Here." Ikara shoved a long glowstick into each of their hands and pushing them apart slightly at the same time. "Odd's already outside with Brendan. Are you two coming or not?" she asked.

"Um," Kai spun around, blushing crimson. "Yeah." _How many times am I going to blush today?_ she thought irritably. "I'm going." She didn't see Ikara smirk knowingly or Ulrich's slight grin as she dashed through the door onto the grass and snow outside.

"Hey, Kai, wait a sec." Ulrich ran up beside her. "Why red Jell-O?"

"Huh?" Ikara asked, jogging toward them. "Red Jell-O?"

Kai grinned. "Because red Jello makes everything taste good! Haven't you ever tried it on ham and cheese sandwiches?" Ulrich grimaced. "It's just like whipped cream. Tastes good with everything."

Ikara rolled her eyes again. "Or so she thinks. Anyway, let us explain to you the Ritual of the Midnight Frisbee. . . ."

**----------------------------------------------------------**

A/N: So I hope that's alright for now, I'm working on the next chapter and a new story called Dragon's Head, Dragon's Heart. I should be posting that within the month. Please stay tuned.

Anyway, I had some ideas and I'd like to get your opinions on them.

Ideas for This Story:

1) X.A.N.A. takes over the school on Christmas Day, causing power outages and major mayhem.

2) The next time everyone goes into Lyoko and comes out, some part of their Lyoko outfit/body comes with them into the real world.

3) Any other suggestions? Please review and tell me!

The Author


	6. The Night Life Is Very Rowdy At Kadic

A/N: Yay, chapter six! More time for people to get to know each other and also get hit in the head with Frisbees! Hooray! What fun!

May I take this opportunity to remind S.S. and A.M. about the "Post Factor" and the ghost Ruffles. Also about the obsession with X.A.N.A. (My iPod, not the Lyoko version. I know, it's pathetic, I'm so obsessed with Code Lyoko that I named my iPod X.A.N.A. Let me explain. I jumped in a pool with it over the summer, and now it randomly blacks out and shows that stupid little Apple logo. I think X.A.N.A.'s got a new symbol!!) May I also take this opportunity to ask A. M. . . . Where _have_ all the cowboys gone?

Thank you, Flames Chaos and Wolf and Sonja Skalecki for reviewing! The second idea will emerge soon . . . very soon . . . :- ) That's why this chapter is so short . . .sweatdrops

Also, thanks to Aelita Madeline for reviewing as well!

Today's song: Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?

**----------------------------------------------**

A flash of bright glowing green, leaving a trail in the dark night.

"Heads!" Brendan yelled, catching the Frisbee and flinging it randomly towards a green patch in the woods. Ikara laughed, catching it with one hand. She waved it.

"Oh, touche," he grinned. "Next time I won't yell."

"I'll remember that," Ikara glared at him as she tossed the Frisbee deeper into the woods. It hit something with a thud.

"Ow!" Odd's voice floated through the woods. "That hurt!" He tossed it away from him. Ulrich deftly caught it with his left hand, then spun and threw it back towards Brendan.

A black shape flew out of a tree and intercepted the spinning disc, bearing it to the ground with a loud, "Oof!" and a burst of laughter as everyone in the near vicinity yelped and jumped back. Kai looked up from her position on the ground and laughed again as Ikara nudged her with her foot and grabbed the Frisbee. "Got'cha," she grinned as she picked herself .

"I should have known you'd do that," Ikara grumbled as she stalked off through the forest again, throwing the Frisbee back to Brendan.

Because Brendan was not facing her, he had no clue what she was doing, and so the Frisbee bounced off the back of his head. "Gaah!" He yelped.

"En garde," she quipped, eyeing him mischievously.

Behind them, Kai glanced at her watch. "We've been playing for three hours now," she yawned. "I'm bushed. And I still have to find a costume for that random Spirit Week thingy they're doing, too."

"What Spirit Week?" Ulrich asked, coming up beside her. She leaned against a tree, half closing her eyes.

"Weren't you listening? 'Spirit Week' is next week, and we have to wear a costume all week. We get to be judged on Friday for best costumes." She yawned again. "I'm tempted to ask Jeremy if there's any possible way he can grab our costumes from Lyoko and virtualize them, just so I won't have to think about it!"

Ulrich nodded. "That would be cool, wouldn't-" At that moment, the Frisbee swerved around a tree and beaned him right in the head. "Yaah!" He jumped, then rubbed his head and flung the Frisbee away. "That kinda hurt."

Kai laughed again, hearing Ikara yelling at Odd because he missed her amazing throw. "Reflexes slow down after a while at this game," she grinned. Then she raised her voice a bit. "I'm bushed, Ikara! I'm going to bed."

"What time is it?" Ikara called back.

"Two-thirty!"

"My god! We've beaten our record!" Brendan yelled in an overly theatrical voice. "Thirty seven hits in three hours!" He waved his hands in the air, grinning wildly. Then he yawned as well. "I think I'll come with you, Kiki. I'm beat."

"Me, too," Ulrich yawned. "At least tomorrow's Saturday."

"Odd and I are staying a bit longer," Ikara hollered to them. "See ya in the morning!"

"It _is_ the morning, Ikara," Kai yelled good-naturedly back as they meandered back towards the school.

"So, Ulrich, do you like sports at all?" Brendan struck up a conversation.

"Mm-hmm," he nodded. "Soccer and martial arts." Brendan grinned and shared a knowing look with Kai.

"How good are you?" For an answer, Ulrich turned around, bent one knee and whipped his other foot around in a low roundhouse kick aimed at Brendan. To his surprise, Kai caught it, and with a flick of her wrist twisted him off balance. He played out his extra momentum with a cartwheel, then came up in a defensive position. Kai crouched into a similar, but odd, position, one leg bent so she was almost sitting Indian-style on the ground, the other splayed wide to balance herself.

"Because," Brendan continued conversationally, "I'm pretty good, myself, and yet my sister, who's almost a foot shorter than me, can still take me down." With that, Kai sprang sideways out of her crouch, covered the distance between them before Ulrich could move-

Flipped over his head-

Landed behind him-

And neatly knocked him over with a well-placed shoulder to the back of his knees. He looked up from the ground to see her hand offered. "How did you do that?" he asked, amazed.

"Ten years of aikido training," she took his raised hand and pulled him to his feet. "It really pays off in the long run." The three of them slipped in through the doorway that was still open and back up the stairs to the dorms.

Outside, muffled laughter could still be heard.

**----------------------------------------------**

A/N: Well, that wasn't one of my better chapters. Maybe I'm losing my touch. The next chapter's gonna be lots better, I promise. Okay, I feel random, so I'm going to write down a bunch of random quotes I've heard my friends saying recently!

"The Giant Special Coin Chase, ending in Cannibalism!" C.B. and S.S., who both participated.

"RED RUM! RED RUM!" B. K. and C. B.

"The Bananamanaman!" M. W. and C. B.

"I am the Potato Man! You know it's true!" S. S., A. M., and C. B. (Taken from Kung Pao the movie)

"Your hair is neatly trimmed. You must use . . . the Floapie." S. S. (Again from Kung Pao)

"The Cheez-Its are now my hostages." C. B.

"Fuzzy moley-moley-moley-moley!" A.C.

"I'm too dumb to be smart!" J.H.

"I'm High On Life!" R.P.

"I'm blue, if I was green I would die . . ." C.B. (On a day they were wearing all green sweatdrop)


	7. UPDATE

ATTENTION! TO ALL IT MAY CONCERN!

I HAVE JUST CHANGED MY PENNAME FROM lyoko-world TO Maxxxed Out! I WOULD JUST LIKE YOU ALL TO KNOW THAT, IN CASE YOU ARE LOOKING FOR ME BY MY OLD PENNAME!

THANK YOU FOR BEARING WITH ME!


End file.
